


Love's Curse

by demonofabove



Category: Naruto
Genre: Fuuinjutsu Master Umino Iruka, Ghosts, M/M, Mission Fic, Spirits, Supernatural Elements, seals master Iruka
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:48:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24300844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demonofabove/pseuds/demonofabove
Summary: Kakashi & Iruka are sent on a mission to investigate a sealed tomb in Suna, prompted by claims of a ghost disturbing the area.Suddenly, they become sealed in the tomb, too; and they need to figure out how to escape.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 27
Kudos: 100
Collections: The Umino Hours Quarantine Boredom Buster





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [HazelBeka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/HazelBeka/gifts).



> Written for the lovely, precious HazelBeka <3

The sun burnt into the ground, its rays blanketing the sea of sand below; and the sand itself grasped onto it desperately, soaking in its heat, becoming as hot as burning coals lighting up a raging fire; and a strong breeze swept through, stirring everything up. The gritty particles buzzed in the air like bees disturbed from their hive, attacking the nearest things they could see; and although the desert was scarce and empty, the sand continued to search, seeking retribution against the wind.

Iruka adjusted his mask as he trudged along, squinting as he scanned the desert through its thin film of dust, searching for anything unusual. He was on a mission with Kakashi; and they had been sent to Suna to investigate some disturbances near a tomb, as a lot of travelling merchants claimed there was a ghost haunting the area, stopping them from passing through the safest route to the Sand village. Whenever there was a sandstorm on the road, they heard voices of someone asking for help; and many had seen a woman wandering around on her own. More often than not, those who approached her, trying to offer her shelter from the storm, ended up lost or missing as they followed her; and those who had been found had all claimed that it was because she had suddenly disappeared without a trace. So with the odd sandstorms blocking the path and the woman luring people away, the safest travel route was becoming just as dangerous as the others.

The Kazekage looked into this pretty fast, and his Sand shinobi eventually traced the strange activity back to a tomb central to the perimeter; but they hadn't been able to get in and continue their investigation, as the door had been painted with a seal written in ancient script. Despite having a library of ancient Sand scripts, and researchers and shinobi who were fluent in ancient text and patterns, no one had been able to decipher it and enter the tomb; so Gaara had asked the Leaf for help, and handed the investigation over to them. So now, Iruka had a substitute taking his place at the academy, while he tried to solve the mystery of the disturbances and the tomb.

"I see something up ahead." Kakashi suddenly said, distracting him from his thoughts.

Iruka looked up and spotted a dark shadow in the distance where Kakashi was pointing; and he focused his senses towards the object, trying to determine if it was someone passing by, or if it was the tomb they were looking for. He couldn't sense any chakra signatures besides theirs; but he still approached cautiously, just in case they were walking into a trap and were about to get ambushed. But as they neared it and the shadow grew, making the object's shape clearer, he relaxed a little. It was a mound of sand shaped like a dome, about the size of a hut, with a small limestone entrance; very much like the structure that had been described in the mission briefing. They had made it.

Iruka approached more confidently when he confirmed this; and took in the view, which wasn't much. The area surrounding the tomb was bare, besides a flowering prickly pear cactus off to the side; and the tomb itself wasn't any more interesting - it simply looked like a mound of sand with a doorway. Iruka approached the entrance and studied the door, which looked a lot like any other, besides the markings painted across its body. At a first glance, it looked like a decorative pattern of some kind; but with a better look, he could tell that it was the mark of a seal.

"Interesting…" he said to himself as he studied the patterns.

Most seals were circular, and branched out almost like a star or the sun, depending on how complex they were; but the shape of this one looked almost rectangular, and the characters woven into it looked like hieroglyphics. The binding marks locking the seal in place seemed to be a blurred combination of characters rather than the usual patterned chains, like each individual segment had its own seal; and some chains seemed to link up, like they had been joined to strengthen the segment and add another layer of protection. Whoever crafted this had clearly been an expert.

"Kakashi, could you please tell me where the chakra is strongest in the seal; and if there are any particularly weak points?"

"Uh, sure."

Kakashi pulled his protector up, revealing his sharingan; and scanned the mark on the door, searching curiously for the chakra trail, wondering why Iruka needed to know that. Truth be told, he was also still a little surprised that he was on a mission with him. Upon hearing the nature of it, he had expected a tokubetsu jounin to be coming along, or even an ANBU specialist to help with the seals; not Iruka, who stayed in the village to teach. Kakashi didn't have anything against that, and was perfectly happy to be going on a mission with him; he was just surprised to find out that Iruka was a specialist, too, since he'd never said anything before.

"The traces of chakra are faint, and it seems generally even all around; but there seems to be a strong point in the centre of the seal." he said, pulling his protector down again.

"Really?!" Iruka asked excitedly. "I think I know how to open it!"

"You do?" Kakashi asked curiously.

He was impressed. Looking at the seal, he had no idea what was going on; and it was clear that a lot of other people hadn't known either; but Iruka seemed so adamant he'd solved the puzzle immediately, with just that small bit of information. He'd have to really know what he was doing to come to a conclusion so fast.

Iruka ignored Kakashi, and started fiddling with the seal, working at the centre where the chakra was strongest. He didn't care about the chains and bindings, or the characters making them up - in his head, that was just decoration. Those markings were like the teeth of a key and the slots they go into to unlatch a lock; but with Iruka's knowledge, he could bypass all that and just pick the lock instead - the clue was in the strong point. Since there was only one, it didn't actually mean that area of the seal was stronger - that was just where all the loose ends had come together to be tied; and all he had to was separate them, and the whole thing would fall apart. Probably.

Iruka worked away, separating the chakra eagerly; and as he went through the motions, each chain disappeared one by one, until there was just the rectangular shape left. And when he inserted one last bit of chakra in to counter and break the seal, it completely disappeared, and the door unlocked.

"Aha! I knew it!"

Iruka turned to Kakashi with a proud grin on his face; and Kakashi stared back in shock - he had been impressed before; but he was even more impressed seeing how fast he had removed the seal. Despite the troubles everyone else seemed to have had with it, Iruka had dealt with it like it was nothing, like he'd seen the seal a thousand times before.

"What did you just do?" he asked in awe.

"Ah, it's a bit hard to explain." Iruka laughed sheepishly, a light blush tinging his face. "But it was pretty easy to release once I knew where the chakra was."

He turned to the door again, and pushed it open, revealing a small entrance with an unlit torch propped up against the wall, and a stony staircase that descended into the darkness below. A cold breeze blew against him, swirling the sand by the foot of the doorway; and Iruka turned to Kakashi.

"Well, um, shall we go in?"

Kakashi nodded. It was time to figure out what was going on.


	2. Chapter 2

The further Iruka went down the staircase, the colder he became. Unlike the heat in the desert, the tomb was icy, almost like he and Kakashi had walked into a room made of snow; and his skin prickled as chills ran along his spine. It was dark, besides the dim light of the torch they had lit on the way in; and he couldn't see more than arm's length in front of him. There was no noise in the tomb, besides the almost invisible _whoosh_ of the flames flickering steadily in its place, as well as the quiet tapping of his and Kakashi's shoes on the limestone ground; and Iruka found it eerie, like they were in the calm before the storm, like there was invisible activity happening all around him. But that could have also been his imagination after hearing about the lone woman and the ghost stories before he left.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs into a more open space, Kakashi stepped beside him; and they followed along the empty tunnel, curious to see where it lead. A short walk later, they were taken to a small room with a small shrine of artefacts, everything seeming to be in place and nothing stolen; and Iruka's eyes landed on the two sealed coffins side by side in the centre.

It caught his attention, because coffins weren't normally sealed, especially with something as complex as what he was looking at; so whoever did that either didn't want anyone to get in, or something to get out. But as curious as he was about what was inside, Iruka didn't want to disrespect the dead and open the coffins unless it was absolutely necessary, which, at this point in time, certainly wasn't.

"Kakashi, what do you suppose we're looking for?" he asked. "Everything seems normal to me, besides the fact that the coffins are sealed like that."

"Hmn… Well, if it really is a ghost or spirit haunting the area, from what I know, they are usually bound to a particular place because of unfinished business, or because they weren't properly buried. They can't go to the other side while something from their life here is tying them down, I think." Kakashi replied. "So I guess that means we have to figure out the story. Or perhaps even ask that woman, herself, if she appears. There has to be a reason she tried leading people here." He thought about it a little more.

"And if it's none of that, and not a ghost or spirit around the area, then I would say we have some particularly interesting enemies to face."

Iruka studied the artefacts, examining them closely for clues; and behind some burnt out candles, laid face down on the stone bench, was a photo frame. Iruka carefully picked it up, wiping the thin layer of dust and crushed rose petals stuck on the glass from where it had been laying; and he saw a picture of a young couple - a woman dressed up, wearing a light blue dress and dark stockings, and a man in a smart, dark suit. At least, Iruka was sure it was a man - the head had been ripped out of the picture; and his side of the photo frame was damaged, making him barely visible beneath the cracks zigzagging across the glass, threatening to shatter.

Iruka wondered if perhaps the woman had some kind of fallout with him; but he was more intrigued with the fact that the picture was here in the first place, because why would the person who buried them here, assuming it was them in the coffins, choose a broken and partially destroyed photo to add to the shrine? Was that why it had been placed face down on it, or was there another reason? But why leave it there, whatever the reason, if it's not going to be displayed neatly like everything else around it?

Iruka frowned, giving it another quick wipe; and he placed it back on the bench, upright behind the candles and dried up rose petals; and when he stepped back to have a better look at the rest of the room, everything went black.

"Kakashi, what's going on?"

"I don't know. The torch just went out on its own."

"Shit. Um, I know a fire jutsu that'll help." Iruka suggested, a little frazzled. "Let me use it to give us some light again."

**_BANG!_ **

A loud noise rumbled through the tomb, echoing across the room, vibrating all around; and some of the artefacts on the shrine, especially the delicate fine china tea set, started rattling about as everything shook. It was like an earthquake or powerful thunderstorm was rocking everything about; and in the small area, everything was amplified.

"Crap! What was that?!" Iruka yelped, stumbling back in the darkness as adrenaline flooded through his veins.

"The door!" Kakashi yelled over the noise. "I think it slammed shut!"

Kakashi dropped the torch and flicked his hands into a fire jutsu, copying Iruka's idea to create a light source; but about halfway through, three huge streams of flame shot up from the candles on the shrine, completely illuminating the room with warm light for a couple of seconds - enough time for him to find Iruka and see that he was okay, but covering his ears because of the noise.

The candlelight went out again, just as the rumble began to ease; and when everything went back to normal, the candles quietly lit themselves again, sharing their pale light to a small portion of the room. Everything was silent now, too, all except his and Iruka's agitated breathing - both had been startled by the sudden turn of events; and Kakashi turned back to where he had last seen Iruka, and walked over to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, gently touching his shoulder.

"Yeah, I just… wasn't expecting that." Iruka said, squinting and blinking as his eyes adjusted to the new light.

"Neither was I." Kakashi admitted. "As I was trying to say before, I think the sound came from upstairs; so I think the wind slammed the door shut."

"Um, I don't think that's the case..."

"Hn? What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Well, I remember pushing the door to let us in, rather than pull." Iruka explained. "If the wind slammed it shut, it had to be from inside; and there's no breeze down here..."

"Hmm, I think you're right." Kakashi frowned. "Then what on earth happened?"

"I don't know. But we won't get answers standing around here." Iruka said. "Where's that torch?"

Kakashi picked it up from the ground, setting it alight with the flame from one of the candles; and as they made their way back along the hallway, which somehow felt colder than before, Iruka kept turning behind him, feeling particularly unsettled. He couldn't explain why, but he felt like they were being watched.

Finally, they reached the staircase; and as they ascended, there was no change at all - no change in temperature, no change in how much light there was, no change in what sounds they could hear; and Iruka grew nervous with every step. Before he knew it, they had reached the entrance again; and Kakashi stepped aside, letting Iruka up the stairs to see; and for a moment, neither of them could do anything but stand there and stare at the door. They had expected it to be shut; but they most certainly hadn't expected to see it painted in ancient markings again, too. And seeing them there only meant one thing.

They had been sealed in the tomb.


	3. Chapter 3

"Okay, no need to panic." Iruka said to himself. "I can decipher this. I can break through any seal, ancient or not."

Kakashi waited patiently, observing Iruka as he studied the markings on the door, trying to figure out what to do. He was slowly running his hands along the door, his fingers gently brushing across every character and symbol they came across; and when he seemed to be understanding something, he would suddenly perk up and step to another part, and feel along the symbols there, too. Iruka was working like he was in his element; and Kakashi was intrigued, because the way he was moving, and the way his eyes would suddenly light up, prompting a small grin on his face, Kakashi could have sworn the seal was speaking to him, telling him what he's supposed to do. He had never seen anyone study seals so… intimately like that before; and he was amazed at how much Iruka seemed to be learning just by feeling it and sensing the chakra within.

"If there's anything you want me to do to help…" he asked awkwardly. It was strange being the one who didn't know what to do; and he felt a little useless only holding the torch.

"No, thanks. I think I've nearly figured it out."

When Iruka first looked at it, it seemed like a huge, complicated mess; but upon closer inspection, he had discovered that it was actually two complex seals infused and placed on top of one another. With all the text jumbled up after being layered, it would be confusing for most people; but Iruka had learnt, when he was young, that seals had a language of their own beneath the text; and he learnt to understand that instead of seeing what was in front of him. It was all about the chakra wired into them, rather than the characters on top; and after he'd had a feel of the chakra on the seals around the door, he had figured out something important.

"The seal is missing some characters." he stated simply. "Or more like, the ones I need are hidden."

"Huh? You figured all that out just by feeling the seal?"

"Ah, yeah." Iruka chuckled shyly. "The chakra in a seal usually flows so simply and connects really easily, even with layered seals like this one; but it feels all jumbled up like a messy ball of wool. That means the points keeping it stable and set up aren't supporting it, or are untraceable, I should say; and I won't be able to find the end, which is what I need to release this."

"So, what does that mean?"

"It means we have to continue our investigation. The characters will more than likely reappear after something has been activated, as it's a circumstantial release of some kind; and I think it has something to do with the coffins downstairs." Kakashi stared at Iruka in wonder.

"W-What?" he blushed self-consciously.

"Do you realise how impressive you are?" Kakashi said. "You've got a real talent for this, Iruka."

"T-Thank you."

Iruka felt his face grow even redder; and he looked away shyly, not really sure how to react to the compliment. He didn't think that what he'd done had been that special; but Kakashi seemed genuinely blown away by his skills. 

On the way back to the room, where they had decided to investigate the coffins, Kakashi was beginning to feel uneasy. He hadn't said anything to Iruka, but when the door slammed shut, he'd sensed that something had changed within the tomb, like something had awoken; and he was worried about what they may encounter when they returned. The chill of the tunnel was starting to get to him, too, sending goosebumps prickling along his skin; and he walked cautiously, scanning the passage carefully.

Suddenly, he caught a flicker of movement amongst the shadows of the torchlight; and he perked up, his senses becoming even more heightened; and he focused ahead, trying to determine whether he had just imagined it. They got closer to the room - he could see the opening, now; and suddenly he saw a silhouette appear, staring directly at him, its eyes the only thing properly visible, being lit up by the fire's reflection.

Kakashi stopped in his tracks, a hand going for his kunai pouch; and his heart raced as he stared at the figure up ahead, which hadn't moved. He couldn't detect a chakra signature, or any kind of presence - he hadn't even heard it approach; but he was sure it was really there, rather than just a hallucination or some kind of genjutsu.

"What's wrong?" Iruka asked, tensing beside him.

"At the opening." Kakashi said, eyes flicking over to him. "Do you see it?"

Iruka scanned the darkness, but he couldn't see what was putting Kakashi on edge. He couldn't sense anything else around either, so he wondered if perhaps the shadows were messing with his head. But then, Kakashi wasn't the type of person to stop and go for his weapon just because some shadows were creeping him out...

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" he asked.

Kakashi's eyes flicked back to the figure just as it disappeared; and he blinked in confusion, trying to spot it again; but he could no longer see those off-putting, almost glowing eyes staring back at him.

"Never mind. I think it's gone." he said. "Let's keep moving."

Suddenly, they heard a scream.

_Help me! Please!_

There was a loud crash in the room, like something had shattered; and Kakashi and Iruka glanced at each other, alarmed and half-panicked; and they rushed towards the sound to find out what had happened, and what was there. The cry had come from a woman, and it sounded like she was in trouble.

Kakashi and Iruka barged into the room, the torch lighting up the entire area; and they gripped their weapons, ready to jump into action; but as they looked around, they didn't see anything there - no woman, nor any enemy. There was nothing in the room except for what they had seen before. The only difference this time, was that the photo frame was on the ground in the centre of the room, lying in its shattered glass against one of the coffins. Almost like something had thrown it there.

When they were positive there was no immediate danger, Iruka walked over to the photo frame, which was face down again; and picked it up to examine it. The picture slithered out, telling Iruka that the entire glass wall, not just the man's side of the frame had been destroyed; and the wood had been split where its corner had hit the coffin, making it no longer stable. The frame could no longer be used; and Iruka placed it back on the ground, and reached for the picture, deciding to at least put that back on the shrine. But when he reached for it, he paused for a moment, noticing with interest, something on the back of it - a few words written in a traditional language that his own had been adapted from.

_Emmanuel & Akari Love. Traitors to the village. _ **_Never_ ** _release from here._

Iruka looked up at Kakashi, showing him the picture.

"I think we've found our first clue."


	4. Chapter 4

The seals on the coffins had the same set up as the first one on the tomb. It would be really easy for Iruka to release them; but he was having a hard time convincing himself that he wouldn't be disrespecting the dead by opening their coffins, and that he would be helping them instead. Though at this point in time, he had to admit, he didn't really know what that meant. He didn't really know why the couple's tomb was so heavily sealed, either. Sure, according to the writing, they had been traitors to the village; but why go to all the trouble of building a tomb and sealing them away? There had to be more to the story…

As curiosity won over, Iruka made up his mind; and he quickly released the seals, using the same trick as before, after Kakashi had found the strongest point holding them together. But as he went to lift the lid on the nearest one, it wouldn't budge. He tried again, but it still didn't move; and he let go for a moment.

"Kakashi, can you help me with this? It's stuck."

Kakashi fit the torch in the handle at the head of the coffin, and then went to the side Iruka was at and helped him pull. Even with the two of them trying, the lid refused to open, after so many years of staying shut; so Kakashi added some chakra to strengthen his arms; and the lid finally let go, suddenly eager to reveal its contents.

As expected, there was nothing but a skeleton inside - this one wearing old tattered clothes that seemed to be a dress at one point; and although it seemed intact and untouched, Kakashi noticed something strange. The bones of her right hand were an obsidian black, almost like they had been tainted by something. What had happened to the woman? What had happened to Akari, for her bones to end up like that? Was this why she had been sealed away?

"What do you make of this?" he asked Iruka. "Do you think it's some kind of seal?"

"Probably not. Seals are usually made of characters and symbols; so this could be something else entirely. Some kind of… jutsu? Magic? A curse?" Iruka guessed. "Let's check the other coffin and see if there's anything similar."

The second coffin was easier to open; and they quickly discovered that there was just a skeleton in this one, too; however, it was the left hand that was black, and their skull was missing. Iruka frowned, thinking about what they had seen so far; and he looked at the photo of the couple again. Emmanuel's head had been taken from that, too; and Iruka couldn't help but think that it wasn't a coincidence. But why was his head separated? Was it because of some kind of ancient belief? Had it been done on purpose so he couldn't rest in peace?

"What are you thinking?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm just a little confused." he said. "You would think that being here without a head, this man, Emmanuel wouldn't be able to go to the other side, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, how come the stories being told have only been about a woman haunting the area? What about him? Surely if one is, the other would be too, right?"

"Hmn…" Kakashi thought. "Perhaps he can't; and his partner has been trying to lure people here to fix everything?"

"You think that's Akari's purpose for still being around?"

"Possibly. She could be tied to him, too, with that mark on her hand - it can't be a coincidence that her right is completely black, and his left is exactly the same. It looks like they were holding hands when the colour changed."

"Hmm… Then maybe we have to find Emmanuel's skull for them to rest in peace. What do you think?"

"It's worth a shot. But," Kakashi said, looking around, "it doesn't look like we have anywhere else to explore…"

"Come on, Kakashi, where's your imagination? We're in a haunted tomb - there's bound to be some kind of secret passage we haven't found yet!"

"I guess so..."

Even though Iruka said that, it felt like a couple of hours had gone by in their search; and they still hadn't found anything useful. There wasn't anything special about the layout - it was just an old limestone building with some cracks here and there; and there weren't any other seals or traps lying around. Iruka had even tried getting the skeletons to hold hands where their bones were black to see if that would do anything; but nothing had happened. He didn't even feel like they were being watched anymore; and there hadn't been any other creepy incidents, so Iruka was just more frustrated than tense and panicked at this point. There was still a voice in the back of his head telling him that if he didn't solve this mystery, he and Kakashi wouldn't be able to get out of the tomb; but he didn't feel worried about that - he was sure they would come up with something.

Finally, Iruka leant against the cool wall and closed his eyes, having had enough of investigating; and Kakashi stood facing him. He was feeling a little drained, too, and ended up zoning out a bit, staring at the wall just past Iruka; and his mind began to make random shapes and pictures out of the cracks in the brick. Suddenly, he became more attentive as he studied the lines, pulling his protector up to take in the details with his sharingan; and noticed that the crack he'd been looking at wasn't actually a crack at all - it had been carved and scraped at the corner, like a tool had been used to help wedge the brick in place. Come to think of it, the outline of this particular brick seemed clearer, too - like it wasn't attached to the others, just fitted into its slot.

Kakashi walked towards Iruka and gently ushered him aside; and he put his hand on the brick, tentatively pushing against it. At first nothing happened, so he applied more force; and a bit of dust crumbled and fell to the floor as the limestone block shifted about a centimetre behind the wall. Kakashi's heart jolted a little excitedly as he slowly pushed against it, wondering how far it would go; and finally, it fell out of place, hammering onto the ground on the other side. He and Iruka shared a knowing glance when they heard its loud thud ringing and echoing through the hole, each coming to the conclusion that he had just found a secret room; and suddenly, Iruka leapt towards him, wrapping his arms around him.

"You did it!" he exclaimed excitedly, pulling him in tighter.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise, and he hesitantly held Iruka, not expecting the embrace; and butterflies stirred in his chest, the longer he they stayed that way. When Iruka pulled back, he planted a small kiss on Kakashi's cheek, too; and smiled brightly at his now flushed face.

"Let's pull this apart and see what's on the other side!"

"Y-Yeah." Kakashi said, his mind going into overdrive.

Apparently Iruka could do more than unlock ancient seals... He was unlocking his heart, too.


	5. Chapter 5

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Iruka declared, placing a brick on the ground, wiping the dust off his hands.

It had taken some time to remove them from the wall, as the first was only the one that had been loose, and they were worried they would damage something important if they weren't careful; but a couple of blunt kunai and a little chakra use later, he and Kakashi had paved the way, and had been able to take the bricks off one by one. And now they had a gap big enough for them to fit through, one at a time.

"I'll go first, then." Kakashi said, motioning with the torch to show his reason why; and Iruka nodded as he drank some water from his canteen.

When Kakashi stuck the torch through, the first thing he saw was scarab beetles scattering, scuttling into the darkness, finding places to hide; and he manoeuvred himself through the gap, angling his body so he didn't bump his head; and as he moved out of the entrance and looked around, Iruka followed behind.

The room they had entered was a lot smaller than the main one, about the size of a single bed, but more decorative, with carvings along the wall, even stretching up towards the roof; and at the end of it was a concrete stand built to be around chest height, with a wooden chest resting on top.

Kakashi noticed an attachment on the wall for a torch right near it; and as he joined Iruka, he placed it there, glad to have both his hands free for a little while. Iruka had a frown on his face again, and was running his hands along the chest carefully, as though he was searching for something.

"Sealed?" Kakashi asked, standing beside him.

"Mhm…" Iruka said. "I think I'm going to need you to tell me where the strongest and weakest points of chakra are again."

"Okay, just a moment."

Kakashi pulled up his protector again - at this point he was beginning to wonder whether he should just leave it away from his eye; and he studied the chest that Iruka was holding, looking carefully at the intricate network of chakra. He recalled what Iruka had said about how seals were usually like this, and how he compared the one at the door to a ball of wool; and Kakashi was beginning to understand what he meant, looking at how maze-like it seemed to be; but he still didn't get the whole strong and weak point thing. Well, he understood that weak points were easy to get to; but Iruka had never mentioned why he got excited at the strong points, too, and had been able to break the seals so easily when working at those points. He truly was amazing. Especially being able to pick this all up without ever being able to see the chakra like he could. 

"There seems to be two strong points by the handles of the chest, and two weak ones around its latches on the front."

"Heh." Iruka said to himself, grinning determinedly.

If there were both strong _and_ weak points, then the weak points were fake, and would end up becoming strong points if chakra is used around them; like tugging on two loose ends of string, only for it to tighten into a knot. So that left the two strong points; and if he was right, they were just two bunches of chakra ends bundled up together, and would come undone as easily as pulling a hair tie out.

Sure enough, with a little prodding, half the seal disappeared; and all that was left was the other side. That parted just as easily; and he was soon unlatching the chest and lifting the lid to see what was inside. Kakashi looked over his shoulder, a little more curious of its contents now that they could get into it; and he saw a skull looking right back at him. It seemed like they had found Emmanuel's head.

Iruka carefully picked it up, examining it for any strange markings like they'd seen on the couple's hands; but there wasn't anything unusual about the skull - it was perfectly normal. So why had it been separated from Emmanuel's body, sealed away in a chest, _and_ hidden in a secret room? Clearly whoever had done this was serious about not letting him move on; and they had put a lot of thought and effort into it… But _why_? What had he done to those ancient villagers to cause such treatment after death?

Iruka was beginning to feel chilly again, like a cool breeze had just picked up, and it had started to snow; and somehow the shadows seemed even darker in this room. It was like finding the skull had caused some kind of invisible uproar; and Iruka was feeling unsettled again. He turned to Kakashi, who also seemed to have felt the change in atmosphere, and looked a little tense; and when they made eye contact, he spoke.

"Looks like we found what he came here for. Let's go and put Emmanuel's skull back, and see if anything happens."

He turned around and took a couple of paces towards the entrance; and when he looked up, he yelped in surprise and jumped back, landing into Kakashi, almost dropping the skull. Kakashi instinctively caught him, and scanned the area, searching for a threat; and standing silently at the entrance, in the room with them, was Akari, gazing directly into his eyes.

Her face was pale, and her long hair was dark; and in the dim torchlight, Kakashi couldn't see any colour in her eyes - they were as dark as the tainted pigment on her bones. She was wearing the same dress as in the picture, although it was tattered and torn now, blotched with stains here and there; and she was hovering a couple of inches above the ground, radiating absolutely no presence at all.

_Please help me_.

Akari spoke, but her lips never moved; and the sound was in Kakashi's head like a thought, instead of coming through his ears. Akari looked over at the skull in Iruka's hand; and the torchlight behind them began to flicker, threatening to go out.

_They were wrong about us._

Kakashi automatically gripped Iruka tighter as the room began to shake. He wasn't exactly scared yet, but he didn't want Iruka to fall over. At least, that's what he was telling himself over his rapidly beating heart.

_They killed him for no reason!_

The rumbling grew heavier, like they were in the middle of an earthquake; and crumbs of dirt began to fall through the cracks in the roof, which had a weaker structure than the rest of the tomb.

_THEY CUT HIS HEAD OFF, AND SEALED IT AWAY, FOR NO REASON! THEY SEALED_ ** _US_** _AWAY, FOR NO REASON!,_ Akari shrieked into their heads.

Kakashi was barely able to stand now; and even the thick cement stand behind him was beginning to rattle about as the room heavily shook. If it didn't stop soon, then he was sure the room would collapse. But Akari was furious; and her wrath didn't seem to be stopping any time soon.

**_EVERYONE MUST PAY!_ **

Kakashi heard a monstrous _crack_ behind him; and he grabbed Iruka's free hand and ran with him straight towards Akari, who hadn't moved at all. If she was a spirit, they would go right through her, he expected; so she wasn't really blocking the way.

Suddenly, after he had taken his second step, the torchlight went out; and he and Iruka were on their own, trying to escape the room before they got caught in the mess. Kakashi studied the area frantically, the moment his sharingan kicked into action; and he was able to quickly figure out where to go despite the darkness.

He sprinted directly towards the hole he and Iruka had made, the sound of cracking and falling brick chasing after them; and he strengthened himself with chakra to make the hole bigger, no longer caring if anything got destroyed; and as he barged through it, he tightened his grip on Iruka's hand and pulled him through, too, practically throwing him ahead of himself. And just as he took his last step out of the room, the entire thing collapsed; burying the setup that had been crafted.

Both of them were panting heavily, their hearts racing from the adrenaline rush; and it took them a moment to realise that they could still see; that the candles were still lit on the shrine. And when Iruka's eyes adjusted and he looked around the room, he grabbed Kakashi's arm and shifted a little closer to him as panic sparked in his system again; and he motioned for him to look towards the coffins. Because there, standing by Emmanuel's resting place, was Akari, smiling sadly at his remains like nothing had happened.

Then suddenly she turned to them, a softer expression on her face; and she spoke for real, her lips moving with every word she said.

"I suppose I should tell you what happened…"


	6. Chapter 6

The silence was eerie. Iruka had expected Akari to speak right away; but she stayed silent, staring at him and Kakashi absently as though she was lost in her memories. As Iruka grew more and more uncomfortable, he began to subconsciously fiddle with the material of Kakashi's shirt, where he had been holding onto him; and he studied everything in the room nervously, half-expecting something else crumble or burst into flames. But when nothing happened, he settled back on the woman before him.

"Y-You're Akari, aren't you? The woman who has been stopping people from passing through to the village." He confirmed nervously.

"Yes." she said, her expression becoming sharper, like she had been tugged back to reality. "I had no choice. I needed someone's help, but no one would come."

"Were you also the one who trapped us in here?"

"No… That was the villagers. When they built the tomb, they wanted to make sure that anyone who entered wouldn't be able to leave. They were afraid of us, especially Emmanuel, who was a foreigner and the one who taught me everything I know; and the villagers didn't want either of us to get out of here."

"I don't understand… You're dead. Why would they think that you would be able to leave?"

"My people thought that we practiced black magic, and that Emmanuel knew a way to resurrect us or cast a curse upon the village - they trapped us here to protect themselves." Akari said. "But they were wrong about us using black magic. We were just using the same magic that the Gods gave to them when they prayed - the only difference was that we learnt that we didn't have to pray to get that power. It is even more obvious now, that it is the same magic; because you were able to undo the curse they used to seal us here, and in the coffins; and not once did I see you pray."

Iruka glanced at Kakashi.

"You don't think she's talking about using chakra and jutsus, do you?" he asked quietly.

"It sounds like it."

"Is that what magic is called in this era?" Akari asked.

"Y-Yes." Iruka said hesitantly, turning back to her. "Everybody has chakra, a core component of the body; and many of us know how to control it and use its power. Shinobi of all nations use it every day."

"Then you can help! You can save my husband's soul!"

The room lit up even brighter as the flame of the shrine's candles burst even higher; and a small breeze began to stir in the room, like everything was affected by Akari's heightened emotions.

"W-What do you mean?" Iruka asked, trying not to let the room's sudden special effects bother him. "Does it have something to do with the marks on your hands?"

"Oh, no, we did that ourselves. It's called Love's Curse, and is a special seal that binds two people to each other through life and death. Wherever Emmanuel went after he died, I was supposed to go, too; but we haven't been able to go anywhere - he's been trapped here for many years now; and I've been left in between worlds, trying to figure out how to free him." Akari looked away with a sad expression across her face. "I had always thought it was strange that it was considered a curse to be with the one you loved forever and always; but after being stuck here for so long, I see now why it was named as such."

"So all we need to do is free Emmanuel from where he's been sealed, and lay him properly to rest, then you will be able to reunite with him, and move on together." Iruka confirmed.

"Yes."

"And how do we do that?"

"Come here, to the shrine." Akari said, floating over to the setup, herself.

Iruka was feeling more at ease now, and detached himself from Kakashi, and followed Akari over, careful not to bump into the coffins in the dimly lit room; and he inspected the shrine more thoroughly, looking at each individual item rather than everything as a whole.

When he had looked at everything the first time, his attention had been drawn to the candles, dried up rose petals, and the photograph when it had been lying face down; and he hadn't noticed that there was a well-preserved floral fine china tea set to the left, and a small brown gourd with intricate black patterns painted, sitting to the right of the bench.

As he examined the patterns more closely, taking in the details, he noticed that some of them seemed more like characters, and that the decorative pictures appeared to be hieroglyphics, similar to what he'd been seeing around the tomb; and a spark of excitement flittered through him.

"These markings… Are they _seals_?" he asked in awe. He had never seen them so elegantly written before.

"You have a good eye." Akari said. "The village elders performed a traditional ritual to curse the gourd and trap my husband's soul; and these seals appeared when the ritual was complete."

"You mean these were made by more than one person?" Iruka asked in interest.

"Yes. The elders combined their magic, er, chakra, together to make this, to guarantee that Emmanuel's soul can never be released." Akari explained. "But you… You have undone the other seals of the tomb so easily… I think you're the only one who can save him. Please… Will you try?"

"I've never worked with seals like this, crafted by multiple people before, so I don't really know what I'm doing..." he said hesitantly.

"Maa, Iruka, where did that confidence in your abilities go?" Kakashi asked, placing an arm around him. "You're very talented, and probably the greatest seals master I have ever met in my life. Akari is right. If there's anyone who can release these seals, it's going to be you. I know you can do it."

"K-Kakashi…" Iruka blushed as butterflies quivered in his stomach.

"You two make a very sweet couple." Akari commented with a smile.

"T-Thank you, but, um, w-we're not dating." Iruka stammered as his face grew even hotter.

"Oh. My mistake." she replied. "The way you look at each other; and your dynamic, though... Most would think that you are."

"Perhaps in the future..." Kakashi said, glancing at Iruka fondly. "But we will have to see how things play out."

"Y-Yeah…" Iruka agreed in surprise, turning to him, his heart pounding fast. Since when had Kakashi been interested in him? And how come he had never noticed before?

Suddenly, Kakashi carefully pulled his arm away from his body; and another wave of confusion etched itself into Iruka's expression as he tried to figure out what was on his mind.

"We can talk later." Kakashi said softly, answering Iruka's questioning face. "But in the meantime, let's finish our mission, and help Akari."

"O-Of course!" Iruka responded, clearing his head and turning to the sealed gourd with a new sense of determination.

With the extra support, he was now more confident than ever that he was going to complete this challenge, too.


	7. Chapter 7

At least half an hour had passed since Iruka had started examining the seals on the gourd. Kakashi had told him, when he had examined them with his sharingan, that it looked like a net of chakra had been woven all around it, just like a fishing net, except with no opening; and Iruka had taken that to mean that there was indeed an opening, but it was hidden amongst the strong points of chakra. Unlike the other seals he'd released, however, this time, a strong point didn't necessarily mean there was a cluster of ends tying the seals together - they were also points in which people's chakra had intertwined as their seals combined with one another, actually strengthening the seals; and he was stuck trying to figure out the difference between them and the ends.

"Argh! There _has_ to be a way to undo this…" he sighed in exasperation, running his hands through his hair.

Kakashi joined Iruka on the cool limestone ground by the coffins, where he had been sitting with the candles from the shrine in front him so he could see what he was doing; and he tapped his shoulder. Iruka turned to him curiously, and watched as he reached into his vest pocket.

"You must be exhausted after working so hard, so go take a short break." Kakashi said, handing over one of his ration bars. "And in the meantime, I'll have another look to see if I've missed something."

"Thank you." Iruka replied gratefully, accepting the food. "Could you perhaps examine the characters this time? I'd like to know if there are any that seem incomplete, or that might be missing or out of place. Or perhaps even if there's a pattern of some kind."

"Will do."

Kakashi carefully took the gourd from Iruka's lap, and lifted it closer to himself to study it. He hadn't paid much attention to the paintings when he had looked at the gourd before, since his focus had been on where the chakra was; but now that he was studying the ancient characters more closely, he could see that they were simplistic pictures of trees and various animals across the land, and almost looked like a decorative forest theme with squiggled patterns in between.

Most people would think the same; but looking more closely, he found the details that said they were ancient characters, instead, like how some of the squiggles looked like a small river, and how the more vertical, jagged ones reminded him of lightning strikes, and how some swirled into an image that reminded him of fire. They weren't patterns at all, but the elements; and the different animals and trees were the extended locks that made the seals more powerful. He found it fascinating just how similar the structure was to the seals he knew; but even though he might have a chance of undoing a seal like that written in a language he understood, he had absolutely no hope with an ancient one - especially when the characters weren't even remotely similar. It made him realise yet again, just how amazing Iruka was when he was working with seals.

"Maa, Iruka, if you were going to make all these seals connect, using other people, how would you go about adding the chakra so they were all intertwined?"

"Huh?" Iruka swallowed the last bite of his ration bar as he considered the question. "I suppose I'd spread my palm across the elemental character, and use my fingertips for the outer locks, like most seals like this; and when the others were ready, also doing the same as me, we would add our chakra all at once, so everything can be connected. I'd say we'd have to share some outer locks, too, for it to make a net the way you described."

"And what if someone can't get their fingertips to a certain character because another's hand was blocking it?"

"Well, that character would be useless. Since no one can add chakra to it, it can't be part of the main seal."

"What if the character did have chakra in it, though?"

"It would mean it was added later, and not part of the main seal."

"Hmn... I get the impression something like that has happened. Even with multiple people, some of the outer locks just seem a bit awkward to get to."

"You think so?"

"Yeah... If I'm right, you would be able to release the other seal, right? And then we'll be able to focus on the main one?"

"Actually, with the extra seal gone, I'd be able to undo the entire thing!" Iruka grinned excitedly.

"That's great! Are you ready to give it a go, or do you need a longer break?"

"I'm ready now!" Iruka replied happily, reaching for the gourd. "When I work at the seals, I'll need you to study the chakra for me so we can find the right seal."

"Got it."

It had taken longer than expected to find the right seal, even with Kakashi being able to see what the chakra was doing; but eventually, when he was fiddling around with the chakra, the chakra linking the outer locks to the main elemental character disappeared almost instantly, leaving only the central mark behind. Iruka quickly released the chakra from there, too; and soon, only the main seal was left.

"How do you plan on doing the rest?" Kakashi asked curiously. "There's at least four elemental characters remaining, from what I can see."

"I'll just have to take them down, one at a time."

"Don't they have to be taken down all at once, since they're all connected to the one seal?"

"No, that doesn't matter anymore, now that the net has open ends."

"What do you mean?"

"Since all the outer characters are connected to strong points of chakra, I believe that's where each individual seal combines to make the main one. If I remove the locks that have become the open ends of the netting, it will be like I'm unravelling it; and as I work through them, the chakra connection will grow weaker, and I will be able to pick those off one by one. That will eventually leave the elemental ones behind; and if they're anything like the last seal, they will very easy to release. Basically, by unravelling the net, I'll be separating each seal from the main one; and then I will be able to take them down individually. It's a much slower process than if there were enough people around to do it all at once; but it's the only solution I've got."

"Are you sure it's going to work?"

"You're doubting me now?" Iruka teased. "After all the other seals I've released?"

"N-No, of course not!" Kakashi stammered, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "Your explanation sounds reasonable, but I've just never known something like that to work before."

"It will. Trust me."

"Okay." Kakashi replied. "Do you need my help anymore?"

"I might just need you to be my eyes again so I know which outer lock belongs to which seal."

"I can do that."

"Thank you." Iruka said softly, gently placing a hand on Kakashi's knee. "You might not feel like you're doing much; but I can promise that you're helping me a lot."

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise. He thought he'd been careful in hiding his discomfort of not quite understanding what was going on with the seals and having his usual position as leader reversed. It wasn't that he didn't like following orders - he was perfectly happy to cooperate, and assist Iruka in any way he could; but he did feel a bit useless only being able to do a couple of things, when Iruka was doing so much.

The hand on Kakashi's knee caressed him comfortingly; and he smiled warmly at Iruka - he'd always had a knack for reading right through him, and always seemed to know what to say or do to lift his spirits and make him feel better. So perhaps it wasn't a surprise after all, that he'd noticed how he'd been feeling.

Iruka suddenly removed his hand from Kakashi's leg, and began fiddling with the gourd again. Just as he'd theorised, he was able to break the main seal down into separate seals; and before long, all the chakra connecting to the outer characters had dispersed, and only the elemental ones remained.

Kakashi could feel the excitement radiating from Iruka as he quickly sorted those ones out, too, picking up speed with every seal he removed; and finally, there was only one more to go. Iruka took it down just as easily as the others; and when he was done, he turned to Kakashi with a giant grin on his face.

"I did it!" he exclaimed. "I've unsealed the gourd!"

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat. Iruka had the most breathtaking smile; and the pure happiness exploding from him was enchanting. He was a bright, warm light, inviting him in, away from the coolness of the tomb; and Kakashi couldn't stay away.

He leaned forward, quickly slipping his mask down; and planted an experimental kiss on Iruka's forehead. When he pulled back, he watched as Iruka stilled for a moment, becoming stunned as he tried to process what had happened; and when he saw the blush that crept onto his face, a fuzzy warmth grew in his chest.

"You should be proud." Kakashi said, smiling fondly. "You're truly amazing, Iruka."

"T-Thanks." he responded, feeling his face grow even hotter. 

"Yes, your skills are remarkable."

Iruka jumped, a hand reflexively reaching for Kakashi; and he quickly turned around, facing the coffins, and found Akari calmly hovering a few feet from the ground, as though she'd been there the whole time. She had disappeared not long after he'd taken the gourd from the shrine; and after getting so caught up in figuring out how to undo the seals, Iruka had completely forgotten about her, and why he was releasing them in the first place. But now that he was looking her and was reminded of everything, he decided the timing couldn't be any more perfect.

"I'm glad you're here. I just released the seal, so you should be reunited with your husband in just a moment!" he smiled.

He turned his attention back to the gourd, and pulled the cork away to free Emmanuel's spirit; but when the lid was released, nothing happened. Iruka didn't know what he'd expected to happen, but it definitely wasn't nothing. Wondering if he'd done something wrong, he curiously looked inside, and saw the missing piece of the photograph from the shrine.

He tipped the gourd upside down so the piece would fall out; and when he caught it in his hand, he glanced at Kakashi, and showed it to him.

"Looks like there's one last thing to do."

Iruka got up from the floor and dutifully walked over to the shrine where he'd left the photo before, Kakashi trailing behind; and matched up Emmanuel's face with the picture. He was a handsome man, with dark skin and even darker hair; and in the photo, he was gazing at Akari with the most loving expression Iruka had ever seen in his life. The fondness in her expression was just as intense; and he could see why Akari and Emmanuel had chosen to eternally bind themselves together with Love's Curse.

As he continued to stare at the complete image, the tomb slowly started to become even colder, almost like he'd wandered into an icy cave; and he felt chills trickling down his spine, almost as if frozen fingers were caressing his skin. He looked around, and noticed that there was a thin haze circulating throughout the room, where fog had begun to seep in; and as it swirled around him, hiding both Kakashi and Akari from view, he felt the sharp breeze that was pushing it along become even cooler.

Iruka was shivering now, as the cold went right through his uniform; and he wrapped his arms around himself as he focused on his surroundings, trying to figure out what was going on. He couldn't see anything in the thickening blanket of mist - even Kakashi's silhouette had disappeared, and he'd been just a few paces away; but even without his sight, he felt another presence in the room, watching him; and his heart pounded anxiously as he waited for something to happen.

But as time passed nothing seemed to happen. Then just as quickly as it came, the fog disappeared, as well as the cold; and soon, the tomb returned to its original state. That is, except for the lingering new presence.

"Emmanuel…" Akari said softly. "You're free…"


	8. Chapter 8

Iruka stared in fascination at the image before him. Akari and Emmanuel were standing next to each other, looking exactly as they did in the photograph, down to their perfect clothes and loving gazes as they faced one another; and with the warmth that radiated from them, Iruka didn't feel like he and Kakashi were with two ghosts. In that moment, it was like the spirit world and the living had merged into one, and Akari and Emmanuel had been blessed with the opportunity to experience life once more, even if it wouldn't last long.

"Akari, my dear, thank goodness you're here!" Emmanuel said, taking Akari's hands in his. "I had the most terrible nightmare. You were killed trying to protect me, and we both died. But that wasn't the worst part. We were separated - Love's Curse never bound us; and I was locked up in a dark, lonely place for a very long time."

"Emmanuel, that really happened." Akari said sadly. "Except, we've still been bound together."

"I-It did?" He asked, slowly releasing Akari's hands. "Then... What are we doing here? How did I get out of that dark place? What have you been doing all this time?"

"We have these two gentlemen to thank for this reunion." Akari replied, turning to Iruka and Kakashi. Emmanuel turned, too, releasing Akari's hands; and his eyes widened in surprise, as though he'd only just noticed them there. As he studied them, Akari continued.

"I have been stuck here, unable to free you from the place you were sealed; and in my search for help, they were the only ones who could get in here. They are very talented, and know a lot about magic - er, jutsu, I should say; and were able to undo all the seals that were keeping us separated."

"This is true?" Emmanuel asked. "You are the reason I can be with my beloved again?"

"Maa, Iruka did most of the work." Kakashi said humbly.

"It was a joint effort." Iruka corrected, gently nudging Kakashi's arm with his shoulder.

"Thank you so much! I am eternally grateful for your help." Emmanuel said. "However, I sense that Akari and I don't have much longer in this world, so I haven't any idea how to repay you."

"Ah, well, there are some characters missing on the seal of the tomb door; and without them, Kakashi and I are stuck here. I can't read the script, so if you know anything about how to make them reappear, or even just what the characters are, that would be a great help."

"It's the Elders' imprisonment seal." Akari explained to Emmanuel. "I do not have the magic strength to remove the first layer of protection on my own."

"Then, let's do it together." He said, gently taking her hand. "It's the least we can do for them."

They closed their eyes, concentrating on syncing their chakra with one another, as they had done many times before while they were still alive; and when it connected, a bright light began to radiate from the coffins, illuminating the room to the brightest it had ever been. Kakashi and Iruka curiously looked towards the coffins, and saw that the marks on Akari's and Emmanuel's bones were no longer black, but instead glowing with a warm, golden light.

The room began to grow warmer, like it was celebrating Akari and Emmanuel's reunion and their linked power; and as their chakra built up, a breeze picked up around them, and spread through the whole tomb. It felt like a pleasant summer's day, despite the fact they were well away from the sun; and Kakashi used his sharingan to study his surroundings, curious of what was happening.

The slowly brightening light had tiny particles of chakra spreading through it like a thin mist; and the breeze seemed to be methodically blowing the chakra along every surface, almost like it was trying to sweep something away. Kakashi thought about what Iruka had said when they had first been locked in the tomb, about how the characters on the door had been hidden; and he put two and two together, and theorised that the jutsu or technique that Akari and Emmanuel were doing now would erase whatever was over the top of the characters; though he was unsure how this first layer of protection, as Akari had referred to it, could be undone from here. It was part of a seal, after all; and even Iruka had to concentrate and fiddle around when he was working with them...

Suddenly, the intensity of the glow and warmth in the room began to grow exponentially, at a much faster rate; and within seconds, there was a giant flash of light, almost like lightning across the sky. Kakashi picked it up with his sharingan, and saw that the chakra he'd spotted before had flared significantly, and the gentle sweep had become more of an aggressive wipe, like Akari and Emmanuel had found the layer of protection, and had used the last of their chakra to rip it off.

Within seconds, they were done, and the room darkened again; and when everything returned to normal, Akari spoke.

"We managed to reveal the hidden characters on the door's seal." She said. "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything else."

"It's fine!" Iruka assured with a grin. "As long as the characters are there, Kakashi and I will be able to break the seal and get out!"

"I have no doubt that you will." Akari smiled. "You two are remarkably talented."

"Indeed." Emmanuel agreed. "I didn't get to witness it for myself; but for you gentlemen to free me from the place I was sealed, you couldn't be anything but masters of magic."

"W-Well, I wouldn't say I'm a master…" Iruka said shyly.

"Maa, don't be so modest, Iruka." Kakashi said, crinkling his face into a fond smile. "Only _you_ have a mind brilliant enough to remove all those seals; and that is something you should be proud of."

Iruka looked at Kakashi, unsure how to reply; and his face quickly grew red. Kakashi's comment had embarrassed him; but he was also blushing because he wasn't expecting to see his entire face. He thought Kakashi had put his mask back on after the unexpected kiss on the forehead before, but he hadn't; and he was caught off-guard by the breathtaking smile he saw. When their mission was over, he would have to encourage Kakashi to leave his mask off more - his face was definitely something he wanted to see more often.

"I'm afraid it's time for us to go." Akari suddenly said, snapping Iruka out of his thoughts.

He and Kakashi turned their attention to Akari and Emmanuel, and watched as their bodies began to glow the same golden light that their hands had glowed before. Tiny orbs floated up above them, as though their bodies were being taken apart bit by bit; and the further up the orbs floated, the dimmer they became, until they finally disappeared into nothingness. Iruka was mesmerised, but he felt a pang in his heart, because he knew it meant that Akari and Emmanuel were being taken away once more.

"Will you be okay?" He asked.

"Of course." Akari smiled, taking Emmanuel's hand. "Now that my husband is by my side again, no matter where we go, or what happens from here, everything will be just fine."

"That's right." Emmanuel assured, squeezing his wife's hand.

"I'm glad." Iruka replied warmly.

He couldn't help but feel relieved for them. After learning about what had happened, he didn't think they'd deserved to be killed, nor to be so cruelly separated as they had been; and he was happy to know that they were reunited again, and Love's Curse would keep them together, exactly as they had intended many years ago. The curse part was finally over, and they could now rest in peace.

"May you be blessed with good fortune." Akari said, a knowing smile on her face as the glow on her body began to rapidly dim.

She and her husband would be leaving in seconds; so there wasn't time for Iruka or Kakashi to say anything else. Instead, they just watched as Akari and Emmanuel became even more transparent and disappeared from sight. The only thing remaining once their bodies were gone, was the last of the glowing orbs; and as they disappeared, too, a small breeze drifted by, and they heard Akari's voice one last time.

"Thank you for everything, Iruka, Kakashi." She said, her voice telepathically filling their heads. "Until we meet again."

Soon, only Kakashi and Iruka remained in the tomb, standing side by side; and they took a moment to pay their respects to the couple who just departed. When Kakashi was done, he grabbed a candle from the shrine, and walked back to Iruka, gently placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on." He said softly. "We should go, too."

Iruka collected his thoughts, and nodded; and soon began to follow Kakashi upstairs to the door.

Only one more challenge to go, and they would be free, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am a mod of the Kakairu Rocks forum. It's a community for all kakairu lovers aged 13+, and there is all sorts of things to see & do, from perusing member fanworks and other recs, joining in with our weekly headcanon discussions, and participating in fun, exciting events! Please [come and check us out](https://kakairu.rocks/)! We'd love to see you there!


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